The Wonder Years (2021)

The Wonder Years is an American coming-of-age comedy television series created by Saladin K. Patterson for ABC. Inspired by the 1988 series of the same name, it follows Dean Williams' life as he grows up in Montgomery, Alabama in the late 1960s.

Premise
Inspired by the award-winning series of the same name, "The Wonder Years" is a coming-of-age story set in the late 1960s that takes a nostalgic look at a Black middle-class family in Montgomery, Alabama, through the point of view of imaginative 12-year-old Dean. With the wisdom of his adult years, Dean's hopeful and humorous recollections show how his family found their "wonder years" in a turbulent time.

Main Cast

 * Elisha Williams as Dean Williams
 * Don Cheadle narrates as an older Dean
 * Saycon Sengbloh as Lillian Williams, Dean's mother
 * Dulé Hill as Bill Williams, Dean's father
 * Laura Kariuki as Kim Williams, Dean's sister
 * Julian Lerner as Brad Hitman, Dean's friend
 * Amari O'Neil as Cory Long, Dean's friend
 * Milan Ray as Keisa Clemmons, Dean's crush
 * Allen Maldonado as Coach Long, a basketball coach

Production
The Wonder Years was announced on July 8, 2020, when the ABC gave the project a pilot order with Fred Savage, the star of the original series, attached to direct and executive produce. In January 2021, the pilot was confirmed, with production taking place in Atlanta, Georgia. In March 2021, Saycon Sengbloh, Elisha "EJ" Williams, Dulé Hill, Laura Kariuki, Milan Ray, Julian Lerner, and Amari O'Neil joined the cast, with Don Cheadle announced to serve as the show's narrator. On May 14, 2021, The Wonder Years was given a series order. In July, Allen Maldonado was cast in a recurring role.

At a Television Critics Association panel discussion, crew members revealed that the series would tackle major events from 1968, including the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. When asked about casting Maldonado, whose character at the time was speculated to be Afro-Latino like Maldonado, writer and executive producer Saladin K. Patterson said they "wanted to represent the diaspora of Blackness for sure. And some of that is in appearance and looks but some of it is just in the background and those individual stories that come from those mixes of cultures. He certainly fits into that tableau that we want to set."

Media

 * In ‘The Wonder Years,’ Dulé Hill Looks Forward, and Back (THE NEW YORK TIMES • SEPTEMBER 2021)